1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to cargo parachutes and is directed more particularly to rough terrain parachutes for air dropping supplies to smoke jumpers and other wildland firefighters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to supply and resupply wildland firefighters with fire-fighting equipment by way of air drops. Such drops often are made from lower altitudes, at times around 100 feet. Accordingly, fast and reliable opening of the parachute is required. In the course of such drops, parachutes used often become entangled in trees and present dangers in recovering heavy loads snagged in trees. Thus, a minimum of parachute-suspension lines is desirable to reduce entanglements. It is further desirable for the parachute to provide a stable descent, but to rapidly close upon initial impact with timber, to enhance payload velocity and increase penetration through the timber.
An object of the invention is, therefore, to provide a cargo parachute suitable for use in rough terrain.
A further object of the invention is to provide such a parachute having only four suspension lines, which opens quickly and reliably, and which quickly deflates upon impact.
Still further objects are to provide such a parachute as is light weight, easily packed, of relatively small pack size, and which is inexpensive to make.
With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, a feature of the present invention is the provision of a rough terrain cargo parachute assembly including a canopy defining four tubular sleeves equidistantly disposed on an external surface of the canopy when the canopy is deployed, each of the sleeves having an opening at a hem line of the canopy and being in communication with an interior of the canopy, the canopy hem line, less the sleeves, being substantially round, and a suspension line connected to the canopy at each point wherein one of the sleeve openings is adjacent the canopy hem line.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, there is provided a method for making a rough terrain parachute, the method including the steps of providing a sheet of parachute material in a square configuration, cutting symmetrical two-sided openings into each corner of the sheet to provide eight outwardly extending points in the sheet, sewing load-bearing reinforcing lines from each of the points to an opposite point to provide four load-bearing lines extending across the canopy edge-to-edge, providing a loop at each end of the reinforcing lines, and attaching a suspension line to each of two adjacent ones of the loops, thereby to affix four suspension lines to the canopy and to form four sleeves on the canopy, each of the sleeves having an opening at a hem of the canopy and being in communication with an interior of the canopy when the canopy is deployed.
The above and other features of the invention, including various novel details of construction and combinations of parts, and method steps will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particular device and method embodying the invention are shown by way of illustration only and not as limitations of the invention. The principles and features of this invention may be employed in various and numerous embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.